LOS ANGELES — Jack Klugman, the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was
loved by millions as the messy one in TV’s
The Odd Couple and the crime-fighting coroner in
Quincy, M.E., died yesterday, a son said. He was 90.

Klugman, who lost his voice to throat cancer in the 1980s and trained himself to speak again,
died with his wife at his side.

“He had a great life, and he enjoyed every moment of it, and he would encourage others to do the
same,” son Adam Klugman said.

Adam Klugman said he was spending Christmas with his brother, David, and their families. Their
father had been convalescing for some time but had apparently died suddenly, and they were not sure
of the exact cause.

Never anyone’s idea of a matinee idol, Klugman remained a popular star for decades simply by
playing the type of man you could imagine running into at a bar or riding on a subway with: gruff,
but down to earth, his tie stained and a little loose, a racing form under his arm, a cigar in
hand.

The Odd Couple, which ran from 1970 to 1975, was based on Neil Simon’s play about
mismatched roommates, divorced New Yorkers who end up living together. The show teamed Klugman —
the sloppy sports writer Oscar Madison — and Tony Randall — the fussy photographer Felix Unger.
Klugman learned to roll with the quick-thinking Randall.

“There’s nobody better to improvise with than Tony,” Klugman said. “A script might say, ‘Oscar
teaches Felix football.’ There would be four blank pages. He would provoke me into reacting to what
he did. Mine was the easy part.” Randall died in 2004 at age 84.

In
Quincy, M.E., which ran from 1976 to 1983, Klugman played an idealistic, tough-minded
medical examiner

Klugman, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was born in Philadelphia and began his acting
career in college drama. After serving in the Army during World War II, he went on to summer stock
and off-Broadway.

He made his Broadway debut in 1952 in a revival of
Golden Boy, and he earned a Tony nomination for best featured (supporting) actor in a
musical in 1959’s
Gypsy. His film credits included Sidney Lumet’s
12 Angry Men and Blake Edwards’
Days of Wine and Roses.

Klugman’s wife, actress-comedian Brett Somers, played his ex-wife, Blanche, in the
Odd Couple series. The couple married in 1953; Adam and David were their only children.
She died in 2007.